Side Note, don't take this title too seriously, it was clickbait(I don't think my opinion is fact)

Major Spoilers Ahead

Alright, first things first, the characters, they are the worst characters I've ever seen. Not because they are unlikable, I mean, they haven't done anything to warrant such hate for their actions(expect Saturo). The reason why they are they are the worst is that for a lack of a better word, they are one trait characters(with the exception of Saturo once again). Yeah, you heard that, right, they have A single trait! Don't believe, okay let's look at our mains then.

Starting off with our protagonist, Saki. In the first few episodes, it may seem like she has anger issues with her hitting Saturo over little things(i.e 7:30 in episode 2), but let me reassure that this flaw is quickly forgotten about and replaced with just being strong mentally. Speaking of which, the first few episodes, whilst still boring, is the best part of the series, but more on that later. Back to Saki, throughout most of her scenes even in the first few episodes, she only ever shows one bland trait at a time. In the first episodes, Saki is only ever shown arguing with Saturo as the only real characterization of her. You could argue other traits, like compassion or intelligence, but if anything, the show goes out of its way to dismiss most other traits she could've had. For compassion, while it is true she saved the monster rats, that was only after she and Saturo were forced into the situation(episode 6, 7:36), as soon as she and Saturo got the chance they left(episode 7). This is once again shown to us at the end of the series where Saki stopped Saturo from experiencing the death of shame and then proceeded to let Kiromaru die for the greater good.

Additionally, when it comes to intelligence there was only one scene that depicted that trait when she thought of how to defeat Akki, and even before then, she quite stupidly almost screwed them over beforehand. In fact, most of the scenes that bring this particular trait up are soon to knock it back down. For instance, in episode six, seven minutes in she thinks about leaving until being reminded by Saturo that they'll likely be chased. Furthermore, in episode 2 when her group is thinking up ideas on how to defeat the other team, she thinks up one plan, that Shun and Saturo debunk, and only then does she make up another plan 8 minutes in, that it balances itself out. The show went the extra mile not to showcase her as too brilliant or compassionate. She's just averagely kind of both of these things. She CAN be passionate when she sees no danger in it(like when she saved that monster rat when he was drowning or when she looks for Mamoru, so he doesn't get killed), she CAN be intelligent once and awhile. The only real trait she has for most of the show's run is that she can handle the situation well(which Maria constantly mentions). We see this when the characters are freaking out over the new messed up information they learn, Saki and Shuns are the only ones pressing for more, while the rest are sitting there, disturbed,(as seen in episode 4, and when they try to think back to Shun after their memories of him was erased). Overall, the character has one real trait that can only be shown on occasion, so she ends up as a really bland character.


On to Satoru, he has a whopping two traits which becomes less prevalent later on but is clearly shown in episode 6, where he constantly grins while killing a myriad of monster rats in horrific ways. This is reinforced in episode 24 where Squealer dies in the most excruciating death imaginable, and Saturo states that Squealer deserved such a fate, not disturbed at all on what just happened which paints him as cruel. Moreover, he's also cunning saving both his and Saki's life in both times they battled the monster rats. One example of this is shown where they are being chased by a ghost boat, and he uses well-angled mirrors to get out of the situation. Actually, wait a minute, I just remembered, in that same episode where he boiled monster rats alive, he offered to stay behind to save Saki. So, he can potentially be less cruel when not dealing with the monster rats.


Next up we have Maria, whose only trait is being caring. For instance, in episode 13, Maria stays behind with Mamoru for his benefit despite the danger. Furthermore, when Mamuro is seen freaking out over the dramatic moments(like when remembering Shun), Maki is the only character to attempt to comfort him. In fact, she has such little personality, that her own goodbye letter is more of an exposition of other characters, and storylines than actually being about her. For example, 2:30-3:30 are dedicated to already well-established stuff that Maria already said about Saki and Mamoru as a character. Furthermore, the first minute of her letter detailing the irony of her actions quite clearly, and 3:38-5:00 of her hammering in how awful the village is in how they fear the children(which was made obvious through their actions and why they killed so many previous children(which was detailed in episode 14)). It feels like an insulting end to her character, to treat her as such a plot device spewing the obvious, already clearly established stuff as a way to grieve her. Not that I think less of the writers personally for that(they can use their fictional character however they want), it just highlighted her problems as a character so much, and how she's treated by them. To be honest, I'm surprised by how many people who adored her character loved this link. Overall, she only had the purpose of being exposition and only showed a single trait(that being how caring she is).


Moving on, we have Mamoru, and his single trait is being mentally weak(specifically a coward). He seems to exist as Saki's opposite. For example, in episode 4, when Saki is trying to find out more information, Mamoru, by contrast, is begging not to know anymore. However, out of all the characters, I honestly do like him the best, as he's the only character who does show his trait more than just in certain situations. For instance, in episode 2(12 minutes in), Mamoru is freaking out over the game. He is, in short, an extreme version of the trait. In the case of the others, Saki can only show a trait in contrast when going over something messed up with the group. Additionally, Maria only shows her trait when Mamoru has something to be upset about(meaning it can only be shown when Mamoru is around). As for Saturo, his extreme cruel nature only appears two times in the series and his intelligence only appears he battles a monster rat or has a task to do(which is rarer than you think). So at the end of the day, Mamoru is the best character, as his trait is the most prominently shown.


At last, we got to Shun, who is easily the blandest out of all of them. In fact, I'd argue he's the Gary-Stu of the cast. He's the most intelligent and talented of the group and has Saki and Saturo utterly in love with him. Do you want me to prove it? In episode 8, 14 minutes older Saki states how Shun was so powerful that people expected him to outshine the most powerful magic user at the time. Not to mention Saturo's constant praise of him in episode 1 of how Shun is an ace student and one of the strongest in the group(which Shun denies out of modesty). Assuming you have eyes, I don't think I need to prove that both Saturo and Saki are in love with him, it's pretty obvious. Episode 8 might as well had neon lights that spelled out exactly that. To be honest, the most interesting thing about him is that he turns into a karmic demon, and episode 10 is the best looking episode that is dedicated entirely to him. His relationships aren't really explained either. Why does he love Saki? Why does Saki love him? Why does Saturo love Shun? Honestly, Maria and Mamoru are the only ones I can see why they love the people they do. In Mamoru's case, he explicitly thinks of her as the most beautiful person ever(as he only ever draws pictures of her), and that in most cases Maria is the one comforting him. As for Maria, in her goodbye letter, she straight out says "I love that you are mentally strong". Anyway, yeah, Shun is one of the worst written out of all our main cast.


You see, the thing is, the fact that only have one trait is as much as a problem as that single trait being cliche' and rarely shown. The presentation doesn't help, but I'll cover that later in part 2. I find myself pretty lax on characters most of the time, as long as you have one trait that's unique you can earn a 6/10 easily. For example, a single trait character I enjoyed was Death the Kid, he had a good aesthetic(as in it complimented his personality and who he was), and his trait was a paranoid perfectionist when it comes to obsession over symmetry. That trait works because it's detailed and leaves you wondering how it would be applied. Randomly he would comment on the symmetry of something that I wouldn't think about. An example of this is seen where he meticulously works on his name an entire exam. His trait works constantly shown and is unpredictable unless you care about symmetry as much as he does. Same can be said for Tanaka( from Tanaka-kun is always listless), a single trait character can work, but not how SSY does it. On that note, for the few who read this, I'll see you in part 2.